by Janie Crouch
Her bra was itchy, her skirt too short, and it felt like everyone in the entire town was staring while they danced. Anne ignored it all—the staring was actually easier to ignore than the lacy red bra Wavy and Riley had sworn was necessary.
She couldn’t ignore she was dancing in Zac’s arms. She’d never thought that would happen.
They’d moved a little awkwardly at first, swaying to the Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.” Rigid, unsure exactly how they fit together. They were boxy, stiff, trying to keep an appropriate distance from each other.
But then Zac had laughed ruefully, wrapped his arm around her waist, and yanked her hard to him. Her hands latched onto his shoulders to balance herself, then stayed there. That close, there was no room for stiffness, no awkwardness.
“Better,” he murmured against her temple, keeping her against him.
It was better. It was so much more than that. The song changed, still staying slow, about being drunk on love, and Zac kept their bodies moving. This was more than a dance. She knew it, and he did too.
This was a fresh start.
His lips moved against her temple again, the fingers of one hand trailing up and down her back. Anne wasn’t going to try to process what it all meant, where it was all going, all the things about herself she couldn’t protect when it came to Zac.
Like he’d said, tonight she wasn’t going to think. She was just going to feel. If she had to pick up pieces later, then she would—and hope she had a big enough broom.
As the song ended she looked up into his eyes, unsure of what to say. If anything needed to be said at all.
“It’s time for line dancing!” someone shouted over the microphone. “You fellas need to get your asses off the floor, so the gals can start it off right.”
Anne laughed and shook her head. She was just starting to move off the floor with the men when Wavy and Riley—the terror twins—each took an arm and dragged her back.
Zac’s whole face broke into a grin. “Have fun.”
They showed her the basic steps to the Cowgirl Twist and soon they were all laughing as they moved around the room.
“I’m not even going to ask if you’re having fun,” Riley said between turns. “Your grin says it all.”
“She wasn’t grinning when Zac had her plastered up against his body,” Wavy shouted. “Which was super sexy, because obviously that man wants you, and everybody here knows it. But also, kind of gross because Zac is basically my brother.”
“I am having a good time.” Anne spun and started another set of steps, messed up, then jumped back in. The turn brought her around to face the bar where Zac sat with Finn and Aiden. She messed up again, then flashed Zac a grin, shrugging.
He held up his soda in a little toast, winked at her, and smiled.
Oh, good Lord. He was hard enough to resist when he wasn’t turning on the charm. Now that red lace bra felt really itchy. Her whole body did. And she knew just what she needed to scratch it.
“You know,” Wavy said as they spun once more and Anne could no longer see Zac without making it obvious. “The Eagle’s Nest is open and has dancing every weekend. It’s not just something they set up for Zac to take dates. The three of us need to hit the town more often.”
“Hell yeah, we do!” Riley let out a whoop that got all the other women on the floor going too.
Anne needed friends, she realized. She’d always been too caught up in her goals: pre-med, med school, residency, surviving the humiliation of working with a husband who had left her for another woman.
Line dancing with girlfriends had never really been an option. Girlfriends hadn’t either. Surviving had been her sole focus.
But now she was home. She had a good job, was digging her way out of her financial hole, and was making friends. She only had herself to blame if she didn’t enjoy them.
Even if they made her wear short skirts and itchy bras.
The song ended, and Anne reached out and pulled Riley and Wavy to her in a hug. “You’re right. You guys were about it all. Thank you.”
Riley giggled. “You’re so gonna get some Zac love tonight!”
She didn’t know if that was true or not. Didn’t even know if she wanted it to be. No matter what happened tonight, it couldn’t be worse than the last time she’d left a bar with Zac.
“But listen, Annie,” Wavy said, eyes serious. “You be careful with your heart, okay? Zac is a good guy, and I love him like a brother, but he’s never been one to get serious with a woman. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She nodded, not surprised Wavy was echoing Mia’s earlier warning. A fresh start didn’t necessarily mean a relationship, just that they were moving forward.
The men joined the ladies as more line dancing resumed. She was surprised to see Zac, Finn, and Aiden out on the floor. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Zac had moves though. He taught her new dances, both laughing when she sometimes ended up going the opposite direction as everyone else. After another hour she was getting the hang of it and having fun just trying, being relaxed with Zac. Feeling, not thinking.
Zac excused himself to go to the restroom. Anne was looking for a table or seat somewhere—their booth now occupied—when Riley and Wavy once again scooped her back out onto the floor for another ladies-only dance.
Frank Jenkins wolf-whistled at her as the dance took her closer to where he and his friends were standing against a wall, shots in hand. Of course, he’d waited until Zac was nowhere in the room to do it. Two of his buddies laughed. The third smacked Frank on the back of his head, mouthing “sorry” to Anne.
It was good to know Frank had at least one decent friend, although now Frank was pushing at him with one hand, gesturing to his half-spilled shot with the other.
The song ended, and Anne was determined to sit down and give her legs a rest. Besides, she couldn’t ignore how crowded the whole place was getting. That was never going to be her forte, but she didn’t want to make a scene.
She found a seat at the end of the bar and did the breathing exercises a teacher had shown her during her psychiatry rotation in med school. She touched her thumbnail to each of her fingers, focusing on the tiny dot of pain rather than the room around her. She let the oxygen and physical sensation center her.
The music changed again, slowing down, the lights dimming. The dance floor thinned out, but that made the bar even more crowded. Crap. She’d need to get out of here soon. There was only so much her system could take. Zac wouldn’t know how to find her and—
“One last dance?” he asked, his big body blocking the rest of the bar.
She nodded, relieved, and took his hand, letting him lead her out to the floor, panic ebbing as they left the crowd behind. His arms wrapped around her and the rest of her discomfort melted away.
“I guess I’m not up for a full night of dancing,” she said against his shoulder. “Everyone else is just getting started, and I’m already tracking the door.”
He chuckled, arms sliding around her more securely. “For a bar in a small town in the middle of Wyoming, The Eagle’s Nest can get pretty crazy on the weekends. Like I said, next time somewhere quieter.”
Next time. “That would be nice.”
His head lowered, his lips hovering an inch above hers, their bodies hardly moving now. She could barely breathe with the need to kiss him.
“I want to take this as slow as you need,” he murmured, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Don’t want to rush you into anything.”
She went up on her toes, so her lips touched his. “What if I want to?”
He closed his eyes and when they opened again, they were bleak. “What happened before...”
She lifted her hand from where it rested on his neck and put her finger on his lips. “What happened before wasn’t all bad.”
He kissed her finger. “I hope you’ll give me a chance to show you the all good.”
Oh God. “Yes. Tonight.”
He kissed her. It was nothing like
the feather-soft kisses earlier this week or at her car last month. This was possessive. Hot. Needy.
And completely inappropriate for a dance floor.
“Shit,” he said as he broke away, looking as dazed as she felt. “I’m taking you home, right now.”
Riley and Wavy made kissy faces and gave her a thumbs-up as he led her to the bar to pay the bill, arm wrapped securely around her. More people were watching. Hell, probably everybody was. Frank was now talking to Mia. Both sneered at her, but when Zac came back and helped her put on her jacket, she couldn’t bring herself to care what they or anybody in this whole damn town thought of her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Zac whispered, heat burning deep in those blue eyes. He tucked her under his arm and headed toward the door.
Anne didn’t think of resisting. There was no else she’d rather be with.
Zac drove Annie’s car, since he only had one helmet for his bike. He had honestly never dreamed she’d let him this close to her again, much less tonight. It was all he could do not to fall to his knees and thank every known power in the universe.
He was damned well going to do everything right with her this time.
He kept both hands on the wheel for the fifteen-minute trip to his place. Because if he didn’t, he wasn’t sure they were going to make it. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this all-encompassing need for a woman. Even with Becky, it had been different. She’d always been part of his life. They’d eased into the sexual part naturally. And the women he’d had since her had always been temporary. Fun. Never like this, with a burning, aching need.
Everyone at The Eagle’s Nest would be talking. Zac’s actions—his obvious possessiveness of Annie—were out of the ordinary for him. PDA, a dramatic exit...all fuel for the gossip fire, and actions he’d never given into. He didn’t want people in his business. But about this, he hadn’t given the gossip mill a second thought. Let them talk. He wasn’t going to hide how he felt about Annie.
When they pulled up to his house, she turned to him. “Zac—”
He reached over and kissed her, deeply, filling it with promise. His tongue thrust into her mouth in an imitation of the act that would come later.
They both groaned.
He broke the kiss and jumped out of the car and around to her door, opening it for her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs to his front door.
It was as far as he could get without kissing her again.
His hands cupped her face. As he bent his head toward hers, he inhaled her scent, something like lavender. Nothing too clingy—subtle, soft. Something you would miss if you weren’t paying attention. Just like the woman herself.
His entire body tightened. Hardened.
Her hands found his waist, untucked his shirt, and scraped her nails on the tender flesh. Zac groaned and pushed her against the door with his body. Every inch of them was touching.
She gasped, and he took full advantage of her open mouth. His tongue swept inside, the faint taste of the cinnamon whiskey she’d sipped firing every nerve in his body.
“Damn it, woman, I’m not even going to make it inside the house if we don’t stop.”
He could feel her smile. His tongue dipped between the seam of her lips again. He slipped one hand down and fought to get the key in the door without looking. After a few moments, he let a frustrated groan escape his lips.
She slid her head back and smiled, reaching down to take the key from him. She turned in his arms to put it in the lock.
Which left the whole back of her body pressed to his. He didn’t even try to suppress his groan when Annie bent a little at the waist to gain better access to the lock. Instead, he grabbed her hips and pulled her back hard against him.
This time they both groaned.
She got the key in, and they stumbled through the door as it opened. Zac kicked it shut and kept their momentum going forward until her body was fully up against his hallway wall, her back still to him. He peeled her denim jacket down her arms, then threw it on the banister.
He ran his hands up her back, across the shoulders, caressing the skin her tank top left bare, and down her arms with a featherlight touch until he reached her wrists. Then, he pulled her hands out and placed them on the wall above her head.
“Leave them right there,” he murmured against her neck. He slid his nose and lips along her jaw and hairline until he arrived at her ear. “I just want you to stand here and feel. There’s so many things I’m going to do to you, sweet Annie. We won’t be done tonight until we’re both too tired to move. And your voice is hoarse from screaming my name.”
Her gasp was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard. He ran his fingers back down her arms and up again to her shoulders. He slid them down her side, oh so lightly as to not tickle her, then spread out his fingers to grasp her hips.
She gasped once more as he pulled her ass against his hardness. She had no idea how much he’d wanted her this month. Hell, Zac hadn’t even known he could want a woman this much.
He bent his knees slightly and allowed his fingers to run along the outside of her thighs, to where the skirt ended, trailing down her bare skin.
“You walked into the bar tonight, and I immediately wanted to march you back out.”
“Why?” Her voice was husky.
“Because they all figured out tonight what I already knew.” He ran his fingers along the backs of her knees, then up the insides of her thighs.
Her breath hitched. “And what was that?”
“That you’re someone everyone should be noticing. Every guy at The Eagle’s Nest tonight was kicking themselves for not asking you out first. A hot doctor wearing red cowboy boots? Hell, they’re kicking themselves for not asking in high school and tying you to them years ago.”
He slid his fingers back up her hips, then dipped them under her tank top, trailing them up her stomach.
“I’m selfish, Annie. I want to be the only one who notices you. And I damn sure want to be the only one you notice.” He whispered the words in her ear before bringing his lips down to the place where her neck met her shoulder and biting gently.
At the same time, his hands reached up to cup her breasts through her bra. Her nipples tightened into hard nubs beneath his palms as his lips continued their assault.
“You’re so damn sexy,” he whispered. “I’ve dreamed of this.”
And he had. Even when he couldn’t remember that night—hadn’t allowed himself to think of her at all—he’d dreamed of having her in his arms like this.
He pulled on one taut nipple before soothing it with his palm. His other hand was splayed across her smooth stomach, and he used it to press her back against his hips again. Her breath labored in and out.
He couldn’t go another second without kissing her. He spun her around, pressing her to the wall with the length of his body. His lips crashed onto hers, and her arms slid around him, pulling him closer.
Damn it, this wasn’t what he wanted. He owed her more. Better. He had planned to make this first time last for hours, but now he just wanted to devour her. Where was all that famous Cyclone self-control? He’d stayed on task in the Special Forces, even when bullets rained and explosions thundered close around him.
But this woman’s kiss blew his focus straight to hell.
“God, Annie.” His voice was so gritty he hardly recognized it. “I don’t even know if I can make it to the bed.”
Her hands slid down over his jeans and grabbed his ass, pulling him closer. “Then don’t.”
* * *
Zac barely keeping it together was the sexiest thing ever. “Take me right here.”
She meant every word. Yes, she wanted slow. Wanted tender. Wanted all night in a bed. And that would happen. But right now, she just wanted him. Period. Wall. Floor. Stairs. Wherever. He took a breath, pulling some measure of control over himself. But he was still sweating, and she loved it.
He knelt in front of her to take her boots off. “In case I h
aven’t mentioned it enough, I love these.”
She was glad she was leaning against the wall as he began kissing her knees and thighs as he got rid of her footwear. He kicked his own shoes off as he stood back up.
Emboldened by the heat in his eyes, she grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, then grabbed her own tank and did the same. She then shimmied out of her skirt.
The way his breath hissed through his teeth at the sight of her in the matching red bra and thong made her want to rush back in time and give Riley and Wavy a kiss.
“Dear God.” His eyes roamed from top to bottom.
She smiled. “You like?”
She recognized the moment his control snapped. Finesse gone, his strong arms circled under her hips and buttocks and lifted her in the air, so her breasts were right in line with his mouth. He plundered one sensitive nipple and then the other through her bra.
God, it wasn’t itchy anymore.
Her legs wrapped around his hips, his weight pinning her against the wall as he reached up with one hand and opened the clasp.
His mouth found her bare breast, and she couldn’t hold back a moan. His hand tortured the other nipple. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and kept his mouth—and teeth, with their sharp little bites—plastered to her. Her hips ground against his of their own accord.
She moaned in distress when he set her down, but then she realized he was taking off his jeans. Through a daze, she heard him ripping open a condom and sliding it on.
He knelt in front of her again, his breath hot at the juncture of her thighs through the red underwear.
“Sexy,” he growled, like he was incapable of making a more coherent sentence. She felt the pressure of his mouth on her core through the thin material. Oh, holy Moses.
His fingers wrapped around the backs of her upper thighs, fingers sliding under the lace, keeping her exactly where he wanted her: pressed against his lips. Sweat broke out on her forehead. She needed more. More than just that sturdy pressure on the outside.
